Friday, September 16, 2011

The Shunning: A Movie Review and Giveaway

Years ago, before homeschooling, career, and chaos, I had the luxury of endless reading. There was enough time to enjoy Christian fiction, and stay up late reading. I particularly enjoyed fiction by Beverly Lewis. One book, The Shunning, I recall clearly. I remember scrambling to order the sequel from my local library. It is part of a series, Heritage of Lancaster County.

Beverly Lewis has tremendous insight into the Amish community. She answers frequently asked questions on her web site:

Were you raised Amish?

I grew up an Assembly of God minister's daughter in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania—literally, on the second pew! However, my keen interest in Plain culture comes from a close family connection to Old Order Mennonites. My maternal grandmother—Ada Ranck Buchwalter—left the Mennonite community when she married. Many of Ada's family members were Mennonites, so I had Plain relatives on Mother's side.

I am interested in knowing more about your Plain heritage. How much experience do you have with that lifestyle?

I have lived with Old Order Amish on two separate occasions, while doing continued research on The Heritage of Lancaster County trilogy (The Shunning and subsequent sequels). My connection to the Plain community comes from my mother's Old Order Mennonite heritage. Growing up, I was surrounded by Mother's family at reunions and church gatherings. I remember going to water baptisms and all of us singing without any musical instruments—the rich four-part harmony of voices—happily watching relatives and friends being completely immersed in the Susquehanna River, just as I was baptized later at the age of 12.

What, if any, has the reaction been from the Amish community to your books?

I have received a lot of mail from Amish people. (Some who have been shunned.) Many ask, "How do you know so much about our tradition and culture?" Others from the New Order Amish have requested that I portray their communities, as well, such as Ohio, Indiana, and other states.

Years later, her book, The Shunning was turned into a movie. A good movie.

I am not what you would consider a movie buff, much to the Gman's disappointment. He loves the rare times when I sit still with him for a movie. He even jumped at the chance to watch a chick flick with me. I loved it. Because I had read the book and he hadn't, I knew the secrets. He kept asking me questions about what happens next and I replied in the manner of one who is surrounded by men.

"If I tell you, I'll have to kill you!"

I won't give away any of the ending, but this movie will have you waiting for the sequel or reading Lewis' books if you haven't already.

Beverly Lewis' The Shunning - About the MovieBefore she succumbs to cancer, the dying wish of Laura Mayfield-Bennett is to be reunited with the daughter she never knew. Unfortunately, that daughter, Katie Lapp, is a member of the Amish order. Katie is about to be married, but uneasy about the path ahead. Now she discovers the secret her parents have kept from her: she's adopted. The film is based on the celebrated first novel of the best-selling "The Heritage of Lancaster County" book series from author Beverly Lewis. Stars Danielle Panabaker & Sherry Stringfield.

Visit the movie website or visit them on Facebook here to find out more about this great movie.

If The Shunning sounds like a movie you would enjoy, I am happy to offer you a chance to win your own copy. Just leave me a comment below saying you would like to win. For extra entries, leave additional comments telling me you shared this link in any of the following ways:

Tweet it using the following tweet: I entered to win The Shunning DVD here http://bit.ly/p7mKuT

Share this on Facebook.

Follow The Shunning on Facebook.

Subscribe to my blog.

Follow me on this blog or twitter @accidentallyhs, I promise not to overtweet you!

This giveaway is open to all U.S. residents. I will be drawing a winner next Thursday, September 22.

If you don't win, don't worry. The Shunning DVD is available to purchase for $16.99 from Amazon.

Thanks for stopping by,
Terri G.

On a side note...
And now to satisfy the ever increasing need of the government to control our free speech:"Disclosure of material Connection: I recieved the movie listed above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and beli8eve would be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC's 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and testimonials in advertising."

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Who is Terri G.?

I call myself an accidental homeschooling mom because it was never something I had planned on doing. I stumbled upon it because I was "rescue schooling" for just a year. Little did I know, I would fall in love with teaching my children. Nine years later, accidents still are happening, and I am enjoying every minute of it.
I am married to The Gman, we have 4 boys, when I am not homeschooling my kids, I am cutting coupons, grocery shopping, cooking yummy meals, folding laundry, teaching Sunday School, reading the Bible, praying, making messes, cleaning messes, looking for lost items, chauffeuring children, blogging, thrift shopping, trying to be an excellent wife, going to the beach and sitting around eating bon bons.